Please Help, My Jack Dempsey of 7 years is dieing...

[vio1ator]

Ok, so this guy has been a warrior. He has survived 4 different tanks, 3 moves, 5 days without a filter (ex-girlfriend), 2 years living with an alligator snapping turtle, a couple bouts with ick, and just being the resident badass/peacemaker among my aggressive tanks.

Recently he has contracted something and I cannot figure out what it is and I have not been able to get him healed. This is him 2 weeks into when I first noticed it.



At this point, I was just doing extra water changes with Prime and adding more salt. He stopped eating anything and it slowly got worse. This is him at one month after first seeing it.



At this point, I am willing to try anything. When I put pellets in the tank he tries to eat them but his mouth is locked open and he can't get them in. Someone suggested daily epsom salt baths. I did this twice for 20 minutes at a time but it seemed that it took a lot out of him and he is already so weak I didn't want to hurt him more. Another person told me to put something with aloe vera in the tank and it will heal it. That didn't seem like it did anything. Then I went and bought Pimafix and Melafix and treated with the combination for the last 3 weeks. At first, it seemed like it was working but then it just continued to get worse and worse.

I have tried to spoon feed mysis shrimp and brine shrimp and he tries to suck them in but it isn't working. This is him now after 2 months of not eating anything.



His health continues to drastically deteriorate and it may very well be past the point of no return for him. However, he has been a great pet and I will do anything to save him. Please help fellow fish keepers.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[Owain4]

Looks like something extremely nasty. I would isolate him in his own tank first all and make sure you keep the water very clean. that is all i can add, hopefully someone who has seen this type of thing before will have something to add

 

[duanes]

It either looks like Flexibacter columnaris infection (duck lips) or a dislocated jaw, locked into place from jaw locking. You can sometimes physically snap the jaw back in place if it is dislocated, but if it is Flexibactier you can't.
Ducklips is most virulent over 82'F and is often fatal, symptoms are often unnoticed until too late, where the infected fish starts by getting lethargic, and slowly stops eating, the jaw extends and the fish dies.
Water changes with regular vacuuming help keep the bacteria down, drop temp to 75, a Potassium permanganate bath can help, and treating the tank with methylene blue can also help if it has not advanced beyond the point of no return.
Keeping temps under 82'F can help in prevention, but the bacteria seems to have been mutating with the prevalence of hybrids and the over use of antibiotics in raising them.
A fish I had, that died from it a few years ago, for comparison.

 

[crush329]

Sorry to hear man. I had a hybrid die from this also. When he first got it I thought it was genetics... Simply because he was the only one within the tank that cought it. I didn't have a clue to what to do and he eventually died from it. Hopefully Duanes info can help save your fish...

 

[livebearerfreak]

how big is the tank, what do you have with him?

 

[vio1ator]

Thanks for the info so far guys.

Duanes, I don't have any experience with Potassium permanganate or methylene blue but I will look into that. Would it make any sense to keep treating with the Melafix and Pimafix? It seems like I should have seen better results with it by now but this is also my first experience using those products because I try to put the least amount of chemicals in my tanks that I can.

I thought of something else, right before he got sick. The other fish in there showed symptoms of ick and had white spots all over him. I treated for it and the ick was gone, but then that's when my Jack started showing signs of what he's got now. Since then, the other fish is acting completely healthy and does not look like hes contracting whatever my Jack has.

Livebearer, he's in a 90 gallon with a Trimac cichlid and a yellow-belly turtle. They usually chase each other and compete for food but the Trimac has left him alone since he has fallen ill.

Any additional ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated. Should I continue with the mela and pima? Should I try the epsom salt baths again and stick to it this time?

Thanks guys.

 

[Aquanero]

duane's advice was sound. However it seems strange that the fish has survived this long with Flexibacter columnaris which usually is fatial much sooner. It could be a dislocated jaw with a secondary bacterial infection. Treat with 1 tbls aquarium salt (not table salt) per 5gals of water. Keep the water very clean with waterchanges replacing the salt as required based on the amount of water removed to maintane the 1 tbls per 5 gallon ratio. You could try removing the fih and while holding it in a wet cloth see if the jaw can be moved or is loocked which would most likly indacate a dislocation. If you can put it in position try. That's about all I can suggest, sory I don't have anything more definate.

 

[MyGiants]

Have you tried any Antibiotics yet i'd try Penicillin.

 

[duanes]

I'll bet you raised the temp into the upper 80s when you treated for ich?
Upper 80s is where Flexibacter thrives, is most virulent, and because of the ich it may have already been stressed enough to compromise the JDs immune system.
And I agree with Tom, Flexibacter usually kills quickly once the jaw presents symptoms, although the treatments you've been using may have had some positive effect.
I also agree you should try to close the jaw yourself to be sure its not a simple dislocation.
A dislocation snaps back into place, Flexibacter does not.

 

[ajjuji411]

Hey frnds i am alsi having the same problen with my rd fh for the past 1month or so he is not closing his mouth...initially he was taking foid but gradually whenever he tried to eat a pellet it lukd lyk he is not able to hold it in his mouth....


Please guys some solution

SENT FROM MY SAMSUNG GALAXY S3